The document summarizes the history of Basque immigrants in Idaho and their connection to the University of Idaho. It discusses how Basques originally came to Idaho as sheep herders in the late 1800s. Many Basque immigrants attended the University of Idaho and went on to successful careers as politicians, entrepreneurs, and businessmen. The University has played a role in promoting Basque culture through student and faculty exchanges with the Basque Country in Europe. A new endowment has been created to further support Basque cultural programs and exchanges between the University and the Basque region.

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A Basque sheep camp with sheepherder Agustin, 1950. Photo courtesy of the Basque
Museum and Cultural Center, Juanita Uberuaga Hormaechea Collection.
by Jeff P. Jones
Following Sheep to Idaho
The Basque Country begins at the Adour
River in southwest France and extends over
the western Pyrenees and along the Bay
of Biscay to the Ebro River in northeast
Spain. It consists of seven provinces – four
in Spain, three in France – that have a total
area equivalent to that of New Hampshire.
The population is about three million. In
the Basque language, Euskera, there’s no
word for Basque; instead, they call their land
Euskal Herria, the land of Euskera speakers.
Two of the first Basque immigrants to set
foot in Idaho were a pair of sheepmen who,
in 1889, struggled, thirsty and near death,
up the Owyhees into what was then Idaho
Territory. “Thus it can be rightfully said that
the Basques followed the sheep into Idaho,”
one author wrote.
Many Basques, seeking opportunity,
followed similar paths, coming from
California and Nevada to Idaho. The Idaho
Basque population swelled into the 1920s.
Like most immigrant groups, they took the
jobs no one else wanted – at the time, that
meant herding sheep.
It was a rough life, filled with months of
dizzying loneliness in the most rugged and
isolated areas. The sheepmen faced sickness
and snakebite, lightning and snowstorms,
coyotes, cougars, bears.
Author Arsen Alzola claimed that it was the Basque
sheepmen’s “obstinate determination to achieve success”
that helped them survive.
When the sheep industry declined in the 1930s,
many Basque herders took over the outfits and became
entrepreneurs.
“They in turn created opportunities for their
descendants, the chance to make a successful entry in
American society and still be part of something larger, a
community and a rich tradition,” wrote historians John and
Mark Bieter.
The Political Path
The Idaho Basque experience is exemplified by Pete
Cenarrusa ’40, among the first University graduates of
Basque heritage. Cenarrusa is an Idaho icon. Born in Carey,
he grew up in the sheep camps, learning Euskera and
listening to the herders’ stories. He eventually served nine
terms in the House of Representatives and was Secretary
of State from 1967 until he retired in 2002. Idaho’s
longest-serving elected official, he credits his time at the
University, where he studied agriculture, as the basis for his
success, both as a sheep farmer and a legislator.
“My schooling at the University of Idaho is a great
asset to me. I carried out my entire profession with the
knowledge I gained.”
In 2003, the Cenarrusa Foundation for Basque
Culture opened in Boise, its goal to promote Basque
culture, language and history throughout Idaho and
eastern Oregon.
Dave Bieter ’87, another Idaho Basque politician,
worked in the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office and
successfully argued several cases before the Idaho
Supreme Court. His brother, Chris Bieter ’79, ’83, also
is a University success story and serves as Ada County
magistrate judge. After their father, Pat Bieter’s, untimely
death in 1999, Dave assumed his father’s seat in the House
of Representatives. Then, in 2003, he was elected mayor of
Boise and was reelected in November 2007.
“I’m hopeful the Basque community is pleased with the
way their mayor has conducted his time in office,” he said.
“My work at the University has made it possible to practice
law in government and allowed me to serve in elected
office. My whole professional run is thanks to that time.”
An Entrepreneurial Spirit
As diligent livestock farmers, the Basques in Idaho
gained respect and many decided to become U.S.
citizens. In the 1950s, in support of Basque immigrant
naturalization, Sen. Frank Church wrote, “In Idaho, we
do not look at immigrant Basques as foreigners but as
Idahoans. They have contributed much to Idaho’s culture,
its economy and its history.”
Throughout their history, the Basques have shown
an entrepreneurial spirit, becoming the world’s first
commercial whalers and renowned shipbuilders. Author
Mark Kurlansky called the ancient Basques “capitalists
before capitalism.” Judging by the success of many of the
University’s Basque alumni, that tradition continues.
N
ine time zones and more than 4,000 miles from Idaho, in the southwestern part of Europe, there exists a
near-mythical land of craggy green mountains and steep, narrow valleys beside a cobalt sea.
The people of this land are ancient. They wear black berets, speak a strange language, and their white-
washed houses with red roofs cluster around brown churches. The Basque Country, this place of legend,
might seem impossibly far away from the Gem State.
Yet, as many Idahoans know, the passionate pursuit of the American dream by Basque immigrants
and their children have drawn these two regions together and intertwined their histories.
The University of Idaho has played an important part in this connection.
The Basque story as it relates to the University is one steeped in history, alumni achievement,
and ongoing opportunities for faculty and students.
PamBenham
8
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Basquing In Success
Patty Miller ’83, executive director of the Basque Museum and Cultural Center in Boise, and Pete
Cenarrusa ’40, Idaho’s longest serving elected official, celebrate their Basque heritage through cultural
and educational programs offered at the University of Idaho.

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Anna Banks, associate professor of film, and her husband, Steve Banks, professor of psychology and communication studies
participated in a faculty exchange program and taught at two universities in the Basque Country. Anna is shown in the main
plaza of St-Jean-de-Luz in the French Basque Country, just across the border from the Spanish Basque Country.
SteveBanks
In 1958, when a Harvard MBA classmate called with
the idea of starting a semi-conductor company, Paul
Araquistain ’51 seized the opportunity. Rheem Semi-
Conductor later sold out to Raytheon, and Araquistain
stayed on.
A decade later, he started a consulting firm and worked
with numerous start-up companies in semi-conductors,
robotics and fiber optics in the Silicon Valley. With a self-
deprecating laugh he said, “I didn’t get a Google or a Sysco
or an Intel, but I did pretty good for an old sheep herder.”
A close friend of Araquistain’s, John Ascuaga ’51,
became one of Nevada’s most famous business owners.
President and owner of John Ascuaga’s Nugget Casino
Resort in Sparks, Nevada, his company has grown from a
60-seat coffee shop with a handful of slot machines to a
multi-million-dollar enterprise that employs nearly
3,000 people.
“Today, when I talk to my employees,” Ascuaga said,
“I tell them that whatever you do, you have to love
your work. At the University, I enjoyed all my time and
developed a great deal of friendships. To be successful, you
still have to be able to communicate with your fellow man
and all your workers.”
Hilario Arguinchona ’65 remembers his experience
differently: “To be honest, my time at the University was
one big blur. I was already married, had a family, carried 18
credits and worked 40 hours a week.”
With his business degree, in 1986 Arguinchona founded
Idaho Financial Associates, a secondary market for student
loans and developer of custom computer software. A
decade later, he became one of 12 founders of Syringa
Bank, where he remains its chairman.
His self-described “fantastic childhood” represents
another aspect of Idaho Basque life: his parents owned the
DeLamar, a boardinghouse in downtown Boise.
The boardinghouse was a home-away-from-home and
helped the Basque community remain tightly-knit. As John
and Mark Bieter pointed out, the boardinghouse became
“the village church, the town tavern, the bank and the
health dispensary.”
Dolores Hormaechea Chapman ’61, University
Foundation board member for several years, knew the
Basque boardinghouse well: her grandmother ran one in
Gooding. As a girl, she learned Euskera and Spanish, so
her language studies, including a degree in French, came
naturally. As co-owner of Four Seasons Travel in Boise for
15 years, speaking several languages helped her immensely.
She enjoys talking about her quintessential Basque-
American upbringing.
“My dad felt that we ought to be 100 percent American.
Still, Basque heritage and language and cooking were very
much a part of our growing up. I enjoyed all the wonderful
things about being Basque, yet I was just a regular
American girl.”
Faculty Exchanges
More than a dozen Idaho faculty and staff have taught,
studied or done research in the Basque Country.
Eric Jensen, professor of political science, spoke with
great enthusiasm about his four trips. In a wistful voice
he said, “If you ever go to San Sebastian and walk the
promenade along the two main beaches on a nice day,
you’ll never forget it.”
And though he had several gastronomic adventures, he
got serious work done, too. He presented criminal justice
papers and co-organized a conference in the Basque
Country, out of which came a book in 2006.
Steve Banks, professor of psychology and
communication studies, and Anna Banks, associate
professor of film, experienced the Idaho-Basque
connection firsthand one day during their faculty exchange
when they were strolling through a village.
Steve was wearing an “IDAHO” sweatshirt when they
passed a men’s club and a man cried out.
“Ee-daho! Ee-daho!” He embraced Steve, ushered them
inside, and pushed glasses of wine into their hands.
“We couldn’t understand a word he said because we
didn’t speak Basque,” Steve said. “And they could barely
understand our Spanish. But we had a good time. They
were just so excited that someone came from Idaho to visit
their little town in the middle of the Basque Country. We
felt really special.”
The Banks taught at two universities and still draw on
their Basque visit.
“I use it when I teach Core Discovery,” Anna said. “Just
last week I taught a Basque film and was able to talk about
my experience.”
Visiting Instructors
Bob Neuenschwander, manager of the Study Abroad
Program, has made such exchanges possible, and as
he readily points out, another key component is the
University Studies Abroad Consortium (USAC), which,
fittingly, began in the Basque Country.
“USAC has been behind a lot of the faculty and scholars
that we’ve received, and they’ve opened a lot of doors for
our researchers over there as well. It’s just been a great
working relationship,” said Neuenschwander.
Delores Hormaechea Chapman ’61 was the co-owner of Four
Seasons Travel in Boise, and currently is a University of Idaho
Foundation board member.
PamBenham
“My dad felt that we ought to be 100
percent American. Still, Basque heritage
and language and cooking were very much
a part of our growing up. I enjoyed all the
wonderful things about being Basque, yet I
was just a regular American girl.”
—Dolores Chapman
Learning to make organic cheese: Jill
Schwartz spent a summer internship
on a farm in the Basque Country.
Another essential
person in the University’s
Basque connections is
Irina Kappler-Crookston,
senior instructor
in Spanish.
“Irina deserves all the
credit in the world,” said
James Reece, chair of
foreign languages and
literature. “She has been
on these exchanges in
San Sebastian and Bilbao
and gotten to know the
people there and helped
us develop what you
could call a partnership.”
Starting in the early
1990s, several scholars
and teaching assistants
from the Basque Country
began coming to teach at the University. For the 2007-08
year, there are three visiting Basque instructors: teaching
interns Jone Guillén and Arantxa Munarriz, and Spanish
lecturer Esther Plaza.
“The students know that I’m from the Basque Country,”
Plaza said. “And they ask me about that.”
In summer ’06, Plaza and Kappler-Crookston arranged
an internship in the Basque Country for Jill Schwartz,
a senior double-majoring in agricultural industry
Through the University
Studies Abroad
Consortium, more than
230 University students
have been able to visit
the Basque Country.

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A Connection For The Generations:
The Basque Cultural Endowment
by Jeff P. Jones
W
hen Pete Cenarrusa ’40 fought for the University, it used
to be, quite literally, with his fists.
“I was 135 pounds. Too small to be a football or
basketball player, so boxing was the best choice. I started as a novice
there and ended up fighting lightweight on the varsity.”
Although he didn’t go to nationals in 1940, he feels fortunate to
have been part of the team that year, when Ted and Frank Kara led
Idaho to a national championship.
In the years after hanging up his gloves, Cenarrusa fought for
the University in other ways – by lending his political and financial
support. Now his support is being honored by a new initiative, the
Basque Cultural Endowment, created in the fall of 2007.
“Through the establishment of this endowment,” said Bob
Neuenschwander, manager of the Study Abroad Program,
“University of Idaho would like to honor special friends, Pete and
Freda Cenarrusa, and their family. They have been, and continue to
be, strong supporters of the University and its programs. Through
their kindness and generosity, they have come to exemplify the
goodwill generated by
initiatives such as this.”
University President Tim
White’s office committed
$220,000 to establish
the endowment, along
with a similar initiative,
the Internationalization
Endowment, both in
partnership with the
University Studies Abroad
Consortium (USAC).
The Basque Cultural
Endowment is an important
step in relations between
the University and USAC,
which is comprised of 33
U.S. universities and runs
programs in 25 countries. It
formalizes their relationship
and will provide four benefits:
scholarships for Idaho students
to study in the Basque
Country, grants for Basque
Country graduate students to teach on campus, faculty exchanges,
and Basque cultural activities at the University.
Kathy Aiken, Dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Social
Sciences, said, “We’re excited because this will allow for permanent
programming. Certainly, the Basque community is an important
part of Idaho history and the Idaho community, so it’s a good way
to know that we’ll continue to recognize that connection forever.”
As a fighter tossing leather, Pete Cenarrusa strove to connect
with his opponent’s jaw. Now he and his family are part of an
endowment that will create connections for new generations –
connections, it’s hoped, with less pain but lasting impact.
Pete Cenarrusa as a member of the Idaho
boxing team, pictured in the Gem of the
Mountains yearbook.
management and Spanish. She worked on a small farm and
learned how to make chorizo and organic cheese.
“It was good for me to see a different way of thinking
and a different way of life. Sometimes in the U.S., we’re so
busy that we don’t notice things. The people there always
took time for each other.”
Upon her return, Schwartz incorporated her Basque
experience into a business plan that she developed for an
entrepreneurship class, gauging whether a similar farm
might be viable in the U.S.
Kappler-Crookston likes to encourage students to go
beyond just studying language.
“That’s what I love about my job,” she said, “combining
the Spanish language with another discipline. I think we do
a great job in this department.”
Through the USAC program, more than 230 University
students have been able to visit the Basque Country.
“I like to think that we have the best Study Abroad
Program in the state,” Neuenschwander said. “So students
with Basque heritage come here to participate. We’ve had
an enormous success getting students over to the
Basque Country.”
A Look to the Future
Like their forebearers, the younger Basque
generation is helping to secure a place for
their culture in Idaho. Yasone Lejardi, senior
in English and secondary education, and Ryan
Johnson, freshman in biology, are members
of Oinkari, a Basque dance group. Lejardi has
been around the world to dance, including
to the Basque Country and Argentina. Both
have made lifelong friends through the group.
A past Oinkari president, Jill Aldape ’98,
also continues to dance. “It connects me to
the heritage and tradition. It’s also a social
activity for me. All my real close friends are
dancers and we’ve traveled together. It’s
very fulfilling.”
Colleen Asumendi Fillmore ’05 wrote her
doctoral dissertation on the dietary intake of
Basque people in Boise. “The Basque people
and culture is who I am, what my life is. This
study was perfect for me. It put both of my
lives together, the world of the Basque people
and the world of dietetics.”
Joe Lasuen ’05 is president of the Basque
Association in Mountain Home. Their 200
members raise money for local charities and
celebrate their heritage. “We do whatever
we can to perpetuate our culture, whether it’s starting a
Basque language class or dancing group or purchasing a
new property for a place to meet.”
An alumnus with a strong interest in keeping
the Basque community vibrant is Patty Miller
’83. She proudly comes from a family of all
University graduates. Since 1993, she’s been the
executive director of Boise’s Basque Museum
and Cultural Center, which has “grown
significantly.” She added, “the downtown
Basque Block has been developed into an area
that’s recognized by the community for its
historical and cultural significance. I see a very
bright future.”
Each summer for the past six years,
thanks to an endowment from the Cenarrusa
Foundation, a University student has interned
at the museum.
Jessica Mullins, senior in journalism, started
her internship four days after returning from a
study abroad program in the Basque Country.
“Being on the museum staff felt like being
a new member of a huge happy and friendly
family,” she said. “After studying abroad and
working at the Basque Museum and Cultural
Center I have great respect and admiration for
the Basque culture. I just wish I was Basque!”
If the past is any indication of the future, the
University’s Basque connections will continue
to foster opportunities for success, not only for
Idaho’s Basque population but for all those who
can only wish that they were Basque. I
Visiting scholars from the Basque Country at the University of Idaho this year include,
left to right: Arantxa Munarriz, Jone Guillén and Esther Plaza. At far right is Irina
Kappler-Crookston, senior instructor in Spanish, who helps coordinate the faculty and
student exchange program.
Jill Aldape ’98, at right front, is a dancer
with Oinkari, a Basque dance group from
Boise. The group is shown performing in
the town of Onati in the Basque Country.
MaiteIribarren-Gorrindo